Ramakanth Desai, chairman of the selection committee, has again made a faux pas through statements like ``Sidhu's form after the layoff will have to be assessed before he is considered for the Indian team,'' when the team for the first three one-dayers was selected, and then picking him a week later without him having played any cricket except for a Ranji tie against the weak Jammu and Kashmir outfit.

Now how does Desai justify the selection? On what basis did he assess Sidhu's form? Is a century against J&K sufficient to put a batsman in international class?

If Sidhu was to be selected, he should have been in the squad from the start of the series, as at the time he had already served his fifty-day ban by then. Ideally, Sidhu should be opening the batting with Tendulkar, but with Ganguly coming good this is not possible. In the last ten or so internationals India has played, Tendulkar has opened the batting with Jadeja, Mongia, Somasunder and Ganguly. An inportant aspect that the Indian board needs to look at are the venues international matches are being played in these days, and the time it takes to reach them. When an important triangular series is being held, India, South Africa and Australia have found themselves reaching their destinations sometimes even as late as the night before the match. It is imperative that teams reach the venue of games at least a full day before, thus giving them time to adjust and recover from the strain of constant travelling. A practise session a day before the game also helps the palyers get used to ground conditions and perform to their true potential. Its about time cricket boards all over the world stop treating their cricketers like machines.

South Africa has dominated this triangular series with some brilliant all round cricket. All their cricketers look totally focussed and the form they are in makes them look completely invincible. Big partnerships by the opposition, or the loss of quick wickets when they are batting, hardly seems to affect their morale at all. Hansie Cronje, their captain, has one of the coolest and shrewdest cricketing minds in international cricket. He is also a sportsman to the core, as was demonstrated by his calling back Ganguly after the batsman failed to make his ground in the Hyderabad one-dayer because of a collision with De Villiers.

In the last two decades, only two incidents of a captain showing such sportsmanship come to mind - the first being when G R Vishwanath called Bob Taylor back in the Centenary Test against England in Bombay, the second when Walsh did not run out a Pakistan batsman out for backing up too far when he was bowling the final over of a crucial match in the 1987 World Cup. Both these acts of sportsmanship were crucial to the outcome of the game, and both India and West Indies ended up losing their matches. In this competitive age, sporting gestures like this are very rare. Cronje has shown that by playing cricket straight and not manipulating the rules, successful cricket can be played at the highest level, especially when the team and management is behind him.

Gary Kirsten and Allan Donald are two South Africans who have stood out during this triangular series. Kirsten has overtaken Brian Lara's record of the most number of runs in a calendar year and, with lots of cricket still left in this year, it looks like his record will assume even more immense proportions. As for Donald, ever since he started bowling first change for South Africa - a brilliant Cronje move - he has picked up nearly 30 wickets in the last ten one dayers. Realising that Donald, easily the quickest bowler in the world, was being expensive with the new ball, and considering the field restriction in the first fifteen overs wherein only two fielders are allowed outside the thirty yard circle, Cronje's master move was extremely successful.

Why can't India do the same and bowl either Jadeja or Ganguly with the new ball? And use Venkatesh Prasad like the South Africans use Donald? Arguably, Jadeja and Ganguly are not a patch on McMillan who bowls the new ball for South Africa, but what's the harm in trying something new?

Sachin Tendulkar, after his first Test victory against Australia, will now be taking India into one of its toughest phases in Test cricket. India first play South Africa in a three Test series at home and then take on South Africa in South Africa, followed by a tour of the West Indies. The Indians are going to be greeted by hard and bouncy wickets, both in South Africa and in the West Indies. The selectors have their jobs cut out for them as they will have to take batsmen with sound technique, ability and temperament to play the bouncing ball. Any compromise will result in India coming back with many heads on the chopping block.